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Sooners Put Orange Away

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The Associated Press

Published: March 28, 2009

Updated: 03/28/2009 12:36 am

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Blake Griffin saw 6-foot Jonny Flynn plant his feet near the basket, trying to draw a charge near the end of the first half. So Oklahoma's bullish power forward changed his plans.

Oh, he still drove through Flynn, flattening the point guard. The change came as Griffin switched from another thundering dunk to a simple layup - and when a blocking foul was called, he got the added bonus of a free throw.

"I was hoping it went in our favor," Griffin said.
Griffin scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds in his usual dangerous game for Oklahoma. This time, he got some help as Tony Crocker added a career-high 28 points, and the second-seeded Sooners beat Syracuse 84-71 Friday night to advance to their first region final since 2003.

Oklahoma (30-5) started pulling away midway through the first half and moved on to play either top-seeded North Carolina or Gonzaga in the South Region final Sunday looking for their first Final Four trip since 2002. The last time the Sooners made it this far, Syracuse beat them en route to their own national championship.

And all that talk of an All-Big East Final Four?

That's over now. Syracuse was the league's lone representative left in the South Region. The Orange (28-10) finally ran out of the magic that helped them pull off such wins as their six-overtime marathon against Connecticut in the Big East Tournament.

"Oklahoma's a very, very good basketball team," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "And when Griffin's been healthy, they've been very difficult to beat."
Griffin put on a show despite being double-teamed. He dunked so hard in the second half that he came away from one shaking his left hand and banged his noggin against the bottom of the backboard while driving along the baseline for a rim-rocking dunk.

"That's the first time in a game," Griffin said of scraping against the backboard, a remark that drew a laugh from Crocker. "It took me by surprise. I got too close."

Crocker, a junior guard, helped shred Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone. He shot right over the zone, hitting six of his first eight 3-pointers.

Flynn led Syracuse with 22 points despite playing the second half with a bruised back after that crunching collision with Griffin. Andy Rautins added 12.

UNC Eases Past Gonzaga
Flawless at the start and composed throughout, Ty Lawson and North Carolina breezed to another regional final.

Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and the top-seeded Tar Heels routed Gonzaga 98-77 in the South Regional on Friday night. They'll play second-seeded Oklahoma on Sunday for a berth in the Final Four.

Tyler Hansbrough added 24 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which won its 99th NCAA Tournament game, breaking a tie with Kentucky for the most by any school.

Wayne Ellington scored 19 points and Danny Green added 13 for the Tar Heels (31-4), who reached the regional finals for the third straight year.

Jeremy Pargo led Gonzaga (28-6) with 16 points.

Now, we'll have a regional final with a little Duke-Carolina flavor. Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel used to play for the Blue Devils. He made one of the most famous shots in the Tobacco Road rivalry - a running buzzer-beater from around 35 feet that tied the teams' 1995 matchup at Duke. The Tar Heels ended up winning in double overtime.

Lawson didn't seem slowed in the least by his much-discussed toe injury, and North Carolina led by as many as 17 in the first half.

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